Furniture Blog: Arrangement Tips

February 14th, 2011

Perhaps you’ve just moved into a new home or apartment, and don’t know where to start when it comes to arranging furniture. The CORT furniture blog is here to help, even if you haven’t actually moved, and you’re just getting bored with the interior layout and design of your space. Especially if you haven’t rearranged things in a while, it can be really tough to visualize your furniture in any alternative setup. On top of that, furniture arrangement comes with its own bevy of challenges. Sometimes a small or oddly shaped room will have major limitations in terms of how all of the elements fit within it. Even in a larger room with many possibilities, it can be tough to decide which arrangement is best.

So we’ve been doing our homework here at the furniture blog. From our friends at HGTV, we picked up some good general guidelines and tips for maximizing the look and feel of every room in your home. It’s remarkable how much furniture arrangement affects the energy of your home. When life feels overwhelming or disorganized, de-cluttering and rearranging the setup of your living space can make a significant improvement on mental health.

So let’s get to it. For starters, if you are moving into a new home or want to move furniture from one room to another, take careful measurements. Determine the size of the space by using a tape measure, or measure your foot and walk heel to toe across the room. Also write down the dimensions of the hallways and doorways you’ll need to maneuver furniture through. Of course, when you’re shopping for clearance furniture or rental furniture, measure every piece before you buy.

Whichever room you’re working on, keep similarly sized pieces together. Strong furniture arrangement is a matter of scale. When furniture of many different sizes are together in one room, it can be uncomfortable and feel a little off. With that in mind, do think about mixing things up in terms of volume. Add visual interest to a dynamic space, like the living room, by mixing furniture of varying characteristics such as height, depth and width. However, if you want to create a serene area for relaxation, such as the bedroom, consider keeping those proportions more similar.

Next week, we’ll be back on the furniture blog with more advice about furniture arrangement. Stay tuned!